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The Other Man
The Other Man by Karen Van Der Zee
Guilty passions
When Gwen had been forced to reject the man she loved, she'd thought she'd made the right decision until fate thrust her and Aidan together to rekindle the compelling attraction they had felt in their youth. But twelve years amounted to a lot of living and both had gained a past of their own. Driven by passion, love and guilt, there were two ways to smash this emotional deadlock--to break up, once and for all, or put the past firmly away and seize that second chance...
Guilty passions
When Gwen had been forced to reject the man she loved, she'd thought she'd made the right decision until fate thrust her and Aidan together to rekindle the compelling attraction they had felt in their youth. But twelve years amounted to a lot of living and both had gained a past of their own. Driven by passion, love and guilt, there were two ways to smash this emotional deadlock--to break up, once and for all, or put the past firmly away and seize that second chance...
- GenresHarlequin Presents
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 12, 1996
2 people are currently reading
20 people want to read
About the author
Karen van der Zee
94 books41 followersI always wanted to write, ever since I was a child growing up in Holland. I was a dreamer, reading books and making up my own stories. I had notebooks full of stories which I illustrated with crayon drawings. My brothers burned the notebooks in the attic one day, fortunately not burning down the house. They don’t remember this now, but I do!
I also always wanted to travel. Holland is very flat and I wanted to see mountains and coconut palms and tropical beaches and deserts. I wanted to meet interesting people and learn about different cultures and see how people lived their daily lives. And then I wanted to write adventurous stories set in these exotic places
I got lucky and fell in love with a globetrotting American. I met him in Amsterdam, he asked me to marry him in Rome, and we tied the knot in a ten-minute ceremony in Kenya, East Africa, where he was a Peace Corps Volunteer. Some wedding that was! Not the stuff of romantic dreams, but really good for a laugh.
After Kenya we lived in the States for a while, then four years in Ghana, West Africa where not only our first daughter was born, but my first Mills & Boon romance as well. It took me a year to write, which is three months longer than it takes to have a baby. It was set in Ghana, and I called it SWEET NOT ALWAYS, a slogan found on a big colorfully decorated truck that transported people, goods, and live chickens.
I continued writing romances and loved the creativity of it, although it was, and is, never easy. Later we also lived in Indonesia, Ramallah (Palestine), then another three years in Ghana, and most recently six years in Armenia, which lies east of Turkey and north of Iran. Along the way we acquired a couple more kids, so now we have three.
I’ve written over thirty books now, many set in exotic locations such as Bali, Thailand, Malaysia, Java, Kenya and Ghana, as well as Holland and the US. Writing as Mona van Wieren, I received a RITA for a Silhouette Romance entitled RHAPSODY IN BLOOM.
I love the challenge of living in a foreign country where the food is different, the people interesting and life gives me endless inspiration for my writing. So, I’ll just keep going for a while.
I also always wanted to travel. Holland is very flat and I wanted to see mountains and coconut palms and tropical beaches and deserts. I wanted to meet interesting people and learn about different cultures and see how people lived their daily lives. And then I wanted to write adventurous stories set in these exotic places
I got lucky and fell in love with a globetrotting American. I met him in Amsterdam, he asked me to marry him in Rome, and we tied the knot in a ten-minute ceremony in Kenya, East Africa, where he was a Peace Corps Volunteer. Some wedding that was! Not the stuff of romantic dreams, but really good for a laugh.
After Kenya we lived in the States for a while, then four years in Ghana, West Africa where not only our first daughter was born, but my first Mills & Boon romance as well. It took me a year to write, which is three months longer than it takes to have a baby. It was set in Ghana, and I called it SWEET NOT ALWAYS, a slogan found on a big colorfully decorated truck that transported people, goods, and live chickens.
I continued writing romances and loved the creativity of it, although it was, and is, never easy. Later we also lived in Indonesia, Ramallah (Palestine), then another three years in Ghana, and most recently six years in Armenia, which lies east of Turkey and north of Iran. Along the way we acquired a couple more kids, so now we have three.
I’ve written over thirty books now, many set in exotic locations such as Bali, Thailand, Malaysia, Java, Kenya and Ghana, as well as Holland and the US. Writing as Mona van Wieren, I received a RITA for a Silhouette Romance entitled RHAPSODY IN BLOOM.
I love the challenge of living in a foreign country where the food is different, the people interesting and life gives me endless inspiration for my writing. So, I’ll just keep going for a while.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 25, 2024
They broke up twelve years ago and both moved on with other spouses, babies and careers but as soon as she sees him, her limbs melt into goo and she has a panic attack. Get a grip lady!
July 22, 2011
This was a second-chance story, which is a personal favourite trope for me. Hero and heroine loved each other 12 years previously, but separated. She's now widowed when he returns. After a couple misunderstandings, they get re-involved, encountering a couple hitches along the way.
Both hero and heroine are grown up, which is nice, although there are flashbacks to when they were much younger. Those didn't work as well, partly because of the 9-year age difference. When the heroine is 30, this is not a big deal. When she's 18, it's a little gross, to my mind. (Although when I was 18 I would not have thought so.) Anyway, I enjoyed this. I used to read Karen van der Zee back in the day, and was excited to see re-releases come out this past month. I hadn't read this one before. I'm glad to see my teenaged taste wasn't completely bad. The characters are (compared to another category romance I read recently) refreshingly not inclined to be martyrs or misogynists. Instead they have hang-ups that a person can relate to. My only quibble was the resolution felt somewhat abrupt. 3.5 stars.
Both hero and heroine are grown up, which is nice, although there are flashbacks to when they were much younger. Those didn't work as well, partly because of the 9-year age difference. When the heroine is 30, this is not a big deal. When she's 18, it's a little gross, to my mind. (Although when I was 18 I would not have thought so.) Anyway, I enjoyed this. I used to read Karen van der Zee back in the day, and was excited to see re-releases come out this past month. I hadn't read this one before. I'm glad to see my teenaged taste wasn't completely bad. The characters are (compared to another category romance I read recently) refreshingly not inclined to be martyrs or misogynists. Instead they have hang-ups that a person can relate to. My only quibble was the resolution felt somewhat abrupt. 3.5 stars.
May 27, 2021
there are some incorrect reviews on here only the heroine had a spouse. No babies - the heroine was fostering a baby for a few days. Overall a nice second chance story (although abrupt ending)
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews